PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, Oct. 18 Bezymyanny volcano in Kamchatka, after ejecting a column of ash to a height of 11 kilometers above sea level, was assigned a “red” hazard code for aviation, the head of Kamchatka said Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) Olga Girina.
“»The Bezymyanny volcano ejected ash to a height of up to 11 kilometers above sea level. The ash cloud spreads in the northern and north-eastern directions, as well as towards the village of Klyuchi. To the volcano assigned a “red” hazard code for aviation,” Girina said.
Volcanic particles pose a serious danger to all types of aircraft flying over Kamchatka on local and international routes. All necessary services whose aircraft are in the skies over the peninsula have received an operational warning from KVERT.
This paroxysmal eruption was successfully predicted by Kamchatka volcanologists. Previously, they (based on various data) predicted the likelihood of ash emissions at Bezymyanny to a height of up to 15 kilometers above sea level.
Bezymyanny is one of the active volcanoes of Kamchatka. The nearest settlement — the village of Klyuchi — is located 40 kilometers from the giant.